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GOP memo: ‘Don’t say entitlement reform’

The talking points arrived two hours after the Paul Ryan pick was announced. | AP Photo

The bottom line, Shields says: Don’t be afraid to talk about entitlements.

“We knew that voters are inclined to believe that Republicans don’t like Medicare and aren’t inclined to support it. We always start out with a deficit on the issue of Medicare against Democrats and so part of the other training thing we have to do is to get Republicans to understand they still need to talk about Medicare,” Shields says in the video. “It’s not in the zone they normally want to talk about but that we need to feel positive about how we go about talking about how we preserve Medicare.

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“We knew that Medicare attacks that weren’t responded to were going to hurt, and we can’t just walk away from this or play defense or even ignore the issue,” he adds. “We need to do something about it. We also knew that Republicans had a strong message that’s capable of fighting Medicare attacks.”

The video shows detailed polling data and walks viewers through TV ads that the NRCC and nowRep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) ran. It also includes spots that Democrats aired in the race.

On Monday afternoon, Shields released a follow-up memo reinforcing the need for pushback and describing his suggested line of attack.

“I’m going to tell you something that the chattering class in DC doesn’t want to know: we want this fight,” Shields writes in the memo. “Any opportunity we have to talk about ObamaCare, and the $700 billion in Medicare cuts that paid for it, is an opportunity that we will never pass up. Democrats are asking us for it.”

Some Republicans seem to be heeding the advice. Republican candidate Keith Rothfus, who is seeking a western Pennsylvania seat, for example, sent out a press release Monday morning, promising to save “Medicare for our seniors by repealing Obamacare.”

But the Republican coaching also seems designed to soothe nervous Republicans who may have been left jolted by the Ryan pick.

“If you listen to reporters and the Democrats (sometimes there isn’t much difference) the sky is about to start falling on Republicans because of Medicare,” Jeff Burton, the NRCC’s deputy executive director, wrote in a Monday morning missive to campaigns. “We’ll see about that.”

Because of untold damage by Obamacare being actively covered up by Team Obama and his allies in the main stream media Seniors really need entitlement reform by Ryan and Romney to save Medicare "Obama’s Senior Swindle May 7, 2012

THOMAS FLUHARTY

The most politically brazen feature of Obamacare has always been its looting of Medicare. About half of Obamacare’s costs are to be covered with money taken from an already nearly bankrupt program for seniors. And the most politically perilous aspect of this ploy is Obama-care’s cuts in Medicare Advantage funding, which would cause many seniors to lose their preferred health plans. Under the implementation schedule stipulated in Obamacare, many seniors would either lose their plans, or learn that they are going to lose them, before the election that will likely decide Obamacare’s—and Obama’s—fate.

Anticipating a senior revolt, the administration took action. It ran millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer-funded TV ads featuring Andy Griffith saying things like, “That new health care law sure sounds good for all of us on Medicare!” It mailed out full-color, taxpayer-funded propaganda brochures singing the same tune. It repeatedly claimed (and continues to claim) that money taken out of Medicare to fund Obamacare would—magically—also stay in Medicare and be used to extend its solvency.

But the administration didn’t stop there. Instead, it launched an $8.35 billion “demonstration project” to postpone the vast majority of Obamacare’s Medicare Advantage cuts until after what Obama likes to call his “last election.” In truth, this isn’t really a demonstration project at all. It’s something closer to the opposite: an attempt to keep Obamacare’s effects from being demonstrated until it’s too late for voters to respond.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified this “demonstration project” as a sham. The GAO highlights the project’s myriad “design shortcomings,” including its excessive focus on 2012, its awarding “most” of its “quality bonuses” to average-performing plans, and its lack of a control group. The GAO, not known for its bluntness, concludes that the secretary of health and human services (HHS) “should cancel” the project and perhaps, sometime in the future, consider “conducting an appropriately designed demonstration.” The GAO also notes that the demonstration “does not .??.??. conform to the principles of budget neutrality.” The administration is running up the national debt by another $8.35 billion in order to boost Obama’s reelection prospects."

Just read this link for the rest of the article about how Obama is not only stealing from Medicare but lying to the public in advance of the election:

The brazen initial theft of funds from seniors and the ongoing illegal diversion of funds by the Obama Administration as part of a pre election cover up bears repeating. Obama continues to ignore fiscal reality as he merrily spends us into oblivion borrowing over $1 TRILLION per year with no end in sight.

Why is this an issue for Ryan? Obama is the one who gutted Medicare to fund Obamacare.

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Voted no. 1 sheepish fan? They write out talking points and idiots swoon and repeat them, even if they make no sense whatsoever. Wow...now I clearly understand when the same group send out their memo's to target the "LIV" demographic. We are seeing that demographic at play NOW.

"Obama continues to ignore fiscal reality as he merrily spends us into oblivion borrowing over $1 TRILLION per year with no end in sight." FACTS: Ryan voted for two UNFUNDED wars Ryan voted for an UNFUNDED Medicare Part D program Ryan voted for TARP Ryan voted for the Auto Bailout As part of the BUDGET committee, Ryan was instrumental in keeping the Wars off the books. Please tell me of any household budget where we can keep one of the larger cost items off the ledger and say that we're serious about fiscal policy? Ryan voted AGAINST Simpson-Bowles Ryan's budget doesn't make any monetary sense, (ie it's budget projections are based on cutting Government spending to levels not seen since Calvin Coolidge's time and an unemployment rate of 2.8%). Ryan's budget doesn't actually trim the deficit AT ALL until into the late 2040s.

"The GOP is already running away from Paul Ryans budget faster than Usain Bolt" RYAN HAS THE GUTS AND LEADERSHIP TO PASS A BUDGET WHILE OBAMA IS SUCH A COWARD HE VOTES 'PRESENT' AND SPENDS US OFF THE FISCAL CLIFF.

RYAN HAS THE GUTS AND LEADERSHIP TO PASS A BUDGET WHILE OBAMA IS SUCH A COWARD HE VOTES 'PRESENT' AND SPENDS US OFF THE FISCAL CLIFF.

De-lusional you are.

It is not guts to vote for every budget busting policy during the Bush adminstration that ballooned our debt, and that are still adding to it, and then turn around and suggest we pay for it on the backs of the middle class by, fundamentally changing Medicare, turning Social Security into a voucher program, gutting education, and drastically cutting infrustructure.

Turn off the TV, jr. You do not know enough to handle political theater.

Just read this link for the rest of the article about how Obama is not only stealing from Medicare but lying to the public in advance of the election:

The Weekly Standard? BWHAHAHAH!!!! Yes next to conservative chain emails and Fox this is where wingers like go for their propaganda. The fact is the GOP messaging on this IS a mess. They voted for these same cuts in the Ryan plan but now they are trying all sorts of verbal jujitsu to get out of it, outright LYING being the method of choice. The real facts about the Obama cuts are pesky things that somehow elude conservative media and publications:

The $500 billion in reductions would come through cuts in the projected growth of Medicare and would mainly affect hospitals and other providers of medical care, some of whom supported the health care measure nonetheless because it would extend coverage to up to 30 million uninsured Americans, raising the number of paying customers. Other savings would result from lower subsidies for private insurers selling Medicare Advantage plans, which offer older people extra features like vision care and gym memberships. The insurers could not cut basic Medicare benefits.

The brazen initial theft of funds from seniors and the ongoing illegal diversion of funds by the Obama Administration as part of a pre election cover up bears repeating. Obama continues to ignore fiscal reality as he merrily spends us into oblivion borrowing over $1 TRILLION per year with no end in sight.

You have no idea what makes up the debt kid. None. All you know is the simple minded crap you are fed on TV, blogs, and talk radio.

The simple minded look only at the dates - as you have done - primarily because looking only at the dates tells them what they were previously told to think. They never look at the actual policies.

If they, and you, did, they, and you, would see that the vast majority fo the debt is due to the recession, in the form of lost revenue and increased manditory outlays. Another large part is from the leftover poliies from the last adminstration. Policies like Medicare Part D, the wars or the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Obama's policies are responsible for a fraction of the debt added since 2009.

So again, jr. Turn off whatever it is that is feeding you your opinion.

No call it like it is. It will be so nice when Romney-Ryan sweep these fools!

Then we can end SOCIALISM - end Medicare, Socialist Security, and get this country back on the track to PROFIT that our founding fathers intended!

Ryan's plan is masterful - slice and dice the demonrats- first cut the under 55 from the over 55 by canceling medicare for the unders, then we cut medicare for the over 65 because by that time they will be isolated, no one but them will care, and we can steadily defund it over the next decade.

The old fool socialists who thought their little pyramid scheme would be allowed to pay them off will be screaming and crying, but we will lock up the congress, the Supremes, and the Presidency! Romney-Ryan could sell ice cubes to Palins, and will certainly be able to convince foolish old socialists (enough, anyway) that they have only TWO CHOICES - get off the teat now, or get off the teat in a few years with not even the possibility of a voucher! There are no other options, sorry- the US is broke and we can't raise taxes and we can't cut the military - so ending Medicare is the only solution!

A MARVELOUS PLAN - men like Mitt and I, who have funded our retirement, should not have to pay for fools who want to stay on the Government Teat!

Obamacare is already law. Seniors can already tell if there are any changes in their medicare plans (there haven't been). Scaring them by saying Obama cut money from Medicare (Advantage) won't jive with their own experience of no change in service.

Ryan on the other hand has a plan that has been rated and shown to increase out of pocket expenses of seniors by $6K/year. That is something tangible that Obama can fight with. I don't see how Romney can counter it.